Machine for sealing envelops.



G. S. LEWIS. MACHINE POR SBALING BNvELoPs.

APPLICATION FILED JULY Z1, 1911. 1,046,472. Patented De0.10, 1912.

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G. S. LEWIS.

MAGHINE FOB, SEALING BNVBLOPS. APPLIQATION FILED JULY 21, 1911.

Patented Dec. 10, 1912.

3 SHEETS- SHEET 2.

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G. S. LEWIS. MACHINE PoR SEALING ENVBLoPs.

APPLICATION FILED .JULY 21, 1911.

Patented Dec. 10,v 1912.

3 SHEBTSzSHEET 3.

51A/ue who@ COLUMBIA PLANDRAPx-l :0..WASHINOTDN D c GEORGE S. LEWIS, E CHICOIEE FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO J. STEVENS ARMS & TOOL COMPANY, OF CHICOPEE FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

vMACHINE FOR SEALING- ENVELOPS.

Application filed J'uly 21, 1911. Serial No. 639,840.

particularly the application of the strippers to one of the pressing rolls. Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are detail views of the escapement device.

The machine shown in the drawing comprises a suitable bed plate a upon which are mounted the frame b which supports the sealing devices and their operating means, and the receptacle o in which are placed the envelops to be sealed. In order that a large To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE S. LEWIS, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicopee Falls, in the county of Hampden, in the State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Sealing Envelops, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,

l0 forming a part hereof. number of envelops may be placed in the re- This invention relates to machines for ceptacle at one time, without danger of sealing envelops in which the liaps of the enclamping the lowermost envelop too firmly velops as they are placed in the receptacle 1n the bottom of the receptacle by reason therefor, are turned forward by flap turnof the weight of the entire number, the reing devices, the gummed surfaces are moisceptacle c is formed with an inclined bottened, the envelops are then drawn out of tom al on which theenvelops may be placed, the receptacles, flap foremost by feeding such inclined 'bottom terminating in an rolls, the flaps are then turned against the abrupt shoulder Z1 which forms a stop for envelops, and the envelops are then passed the lowermost envelop which then lies flap between pressing rolls by which the moisdownward, upon the bottom plate d2, which tened flaps are pressed firmly against the is cut out as at d3 so as to permit the Hap bodies of the envelops. p Y turning device to engage the flap `of the en- The object of the invention is to improve velop and turn it forward. The shoulder the construction of such machines in vari- [Z1 against which therear edge of the Venous particulars; first, with respect to the velop rests,assists in preventing such twistfeeding of the envelops, so that the envelop ing of the envelop as Ymight interfere with which is to be operated upon shall not be its proper progress through the machine. twisted out of position by the flap turning In machines of the character to which devices, and so that the envelops shall be this invention particularly relates the enfed from the receptacle properly without velops rest flap downward and forward, or regard to variations in thickness; second, to the rightin Figs. l and 2, upon the plate with respect to the devices for turning the Z2 which is cutaway as at d8 to permit the moistened flap of each envelop against the rotating finger e on a shaft e1 of the mabody of the envelop, so that such operation chine to turn the flap forward into posi- 35 shall be performed with certainty; third, tion to be first moistened and then grasped with respect to the feeding rolls, so that so that the whole envelop is pulled fornotwithstanding their peculiar shape, the ward by the flap from the receptacle c. In driving gears shall continue to mesh propthis movement of the Hap it is turned kto a erly and, fourth, with respect to the feedsubstantially horizontal position or into a 40 ing devices, so that the envelop shall not be position in the same plane with the body of carried around the rolls. v the envelop and is grasped and pulled' for- The yinvention will be more fully exward while in ysuch plane. This positioning plained-hereinafter with reference to the acof the envelop is taken advantage of to concompanying drawings in which it is illustrol the feed of the envelops from the retrated and in whic ceptacle c so that only the one envelop shall Figure l is a view showing in side elevabe permitted to escape from the receptacle tion a machine which embodies the present at a time regardless of any variation in improvements. Fig. 2 is a view of the same thickness of successive envelops with their partly in longitudinal section and on a contents. To enable this result to be aclarger scale, the receptacle for the unsealed complished there is mounted at the delivery envelops Vbeing partly broken off to save end c1 of the receptacle a gravity escapespace. Fig. 3 is a detail View partly in secment device j" which is shown in detail in tion on the plane indicated by the line 3 3 Figs. 5, 6 and 7. As shown it comprises an of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the elongated horizontal lip j which is suitably arrows. Fig. 4 is a detail view illustrating supported so that it may be raised by the by the comprises a properly supported when it is not as it protruded from the grasp of the feed rolls and turn it down. Such star wheel, however, is found not to operate satisfactorily under all conditions. In the present machine, therefore, the turning of the flap of the envelop downward from the plane of the body is accomplished by causing the flap to adhere slightly to the surface of the lower roll g or, more exactly, to the surface of the middle disk g3. This is accomplished by small spurs 99 which are set into the disk g3, cooperating with pads 7L9, preferably of rubber, carried by the disk ha. rIhe spurs prick the flap of the envelop and cause it to cling slightly to the disk g3 so that it is carried around by the disk until it meets the strippers 0', which are suitably shaped rods mounted upon the frame of the machine and act to disengage the flap from the lower roll. When such disengagement takes place, however, the forward edge of the body of the envelop' has been carried far enough forward so that the fold will enter with cerflap of each envelop as the latter is turned up, shall rest on the body of that envelop as it is drawn out, and shall fall in front of the next envelop before its flap is turned. For this purpose the escapement f could be carried by a vertical bar f1, which is engaged by screws f2, which pass through slots f3 in the wall 01 of the receptacle. By this device the envelop next above that which is to be drawn out at the bottom of the receptacle is held back regardless o-f the thickness of either of the envelops, with their contents, while it is thus lifted by the turning of the flap to the height which is necessary to release the lowermost envelop, also regardless .of the thickness of such envelop with the contents.

It is desirable in some cases to provide in the receptacle an internal inclined guide wall 02 but the escapement device is preferably supported so that its movement shall be in a vertical plane The present machine, like the machine upon which it is an improvement, has skeleton feed rolls g and 7L, the lower feed roll g comprising a shaft g1, a hub g2, a central disk g3 and lateral disks g4, all of the disks being cut away or recessed, as indicated at g5 in Fig. 2, and the disks gf being provided with moisteners gG which cooperate with a moistening roll g. The upper roll 7L, also shaft h1, a hub 7b2, a central disk 71,3 and v lateral disks 7b4, th-e several disks 7b3 and 7L4 cooperating with the corresponding disks g and g4, being cut away or recessed, as at h5. The roll 71, is pressed down in its slotted bearings toward the roll g by spring actuated pressers 7L and the two rolls are 4geared together by intermeshing gears indicated at 71,7. Ibe disks g3 and g4, for that portion of their circumference which is of the maximum diameter, cooperate with the corresponding portions ofthe disks 7b3 and 72;L to grip the forwardly turned flap of the envelop and draw the envelop forward out of the receptacle c. The gears k7, are therefore held firmly in mesh during that portion of the rotation of the rolls. In order to prevent the improper meshing and clattering of the gears which would otherwise take place when the pressure of the upper rolls is not supported disks g3 and g4 of the lower roll, the lower roll is provided with supplemental disks g8 and the upper roll with supplemental disks 71,s by which the upper roll is supported 70, 701. y To prevent the possibility of an envelop being carried around the lower presser rolls 701, 703, through slight sticking of the flap side of the envelop to the rolls, such rolls are preferably provided with strippers f and 705, which are merely bent fingers 706 carried by a rod 707, and rest in circumferential grooves 708 of the lower rolls, as clearly shown in Fig. 4.

It will be understood that the several features of improvement shown and described herein are capable of use independently of each other and that the form and arrangement may be varied to suit dierent conditions of use. The invention, therefore, is not limited to the precise construction, arrangement and combination of parts shown and described herein.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a machine for sealing envelops, the combination with a receptacle for the envelops to be sealed having a discharge opening in its bottom, a vertically movable escapement device and means to turn the flap of an envelop forward toward a position in the plane of the envelop and to lift said escapement in this turning movement.

2. In a machine for sealing envelops, the combination of a receptacle for the envelops to be sealed having a discharge opening'in escapement device and means to turn the flap of an envelop forward toward a position in the plane of the envelop and to lift said escapement in this. turning movement.

3. In a machine for sealing envelops, the combination of a receptacle for envelops to be sealed, having a slotted bottom plate with a discharge opening at one end, a gravity escapement device mounted on the end of the receptacle to move in a vertical plane by the mutilated disks g3 and g4.

In ther machine y to which the present improvements are applied, as such machine. has been constructed heretofore, the turning of the flap of each envelop downward from the plane of the body, was effected by a star wheel located in such position as to strike the ap of each envelop tainty between the first pair of presser rolls its bottom, a vertically movable gravity 1 transverse to the plane of the envelop, and means to turn the flap of an envelop forward toward a position in the plane of the envelop and to lift said escapement in this turning movement.

4. In a machine for sealing envelops7 the combination of upper and lower feed rolls, one of said rolls having a spur to engage the flap of the envelop and cause it to cling to the surface of the roll and be turned thereby out of the plane of the body.

5. In a machine for sealing envelops, the combination of upper and lower feed rolls, one of said rolls having a spur to engage the Hap of the envelop and the other of said rolls having a coperating pad.

6. In a machine for sealing envelops, the combination of a receptacle for the envelops to be sealed, a flap turning device to turn forward the flap of each envelop in succession7 and recessed feed rolls to engage the flap and feed the envelop forward, one of said rolls having a spur to engage the Hap of the envelop.

7 In a machine for sealing envelops, the combination of upper and lower feed rolls,

' a moistening device and presser rolls, one of said feed rolls being provided with means to engage the flap of the envelop and cause it to cling to the surface of the roll and thereby to turn it out of the plane of the body of the envelop, whereby the fold of the envelop is properly presented to the presser rolls.

8. In a machine for sealing envelops, the combination of feed rolls, a moistening device and presser rolls, one of said rolls having a spur to engage the flap of the envelop and cause it to cling to the surface of the roll and thereby turn it out of the plane of the body of the envelop.

9. In a machine for sealing envelops, the combination of feed rolls, a moistening device, presser rolls, means to cause the flap of the envelop to adhere to the surface of one of the feed rolls and to be turned thereby out of the plane of the body of the envelop, and a stripper to disengage the flap from said feed roll.

This specification signed and witnessed this 17 th day of July 1911.

GEORGE S. LEWIS.

Signed in the presence of- BERTHA M. TERRELL, E. C. FINK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 6.1, 

